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Mundane astrology
Mundane astrology is the application of Wikipedia:astrology to world affairs and world events, taking its name from the Wikipedia:Latin word mundus, meaning "the Wikipedia:World". Mundane astrology is widely believed by astrological historians to be the most Wikipedia:ancient branch of astrology. Astrological practices of divination and planetary interpretation have been used for millennia to answer political questions. It was, however, only with the gradual emergence of Wikipedia:horoscopic astrology from the sixth century B.C. that astrology developed into two distinct branches, mundane astrology and natal astrology. . Mundane astrology deals with the study of events at a national level which are significant enough to affect the harmony, hopes, expectations and material conditions of the citizens. Often there is a considerable focus on the Wikipedia:government, Wikipedia:politics or Wikipedia:laws of a particular Wikipedia:nation, state, Wikipedia:city or Wikipedia:organization. The most prevalent approach to the study of mundane astrology is by focusing on the horoscope representing the birth of a collective entity. It is held that certain countries have astrological charts (or Wikipedia:horoscopes) just like a person is said to in astrology. For example, the modern state of India is widely considered to have come into being at midnight on August 15, 1947, when its independence was attained from Britain. This time gives rise to a national horoscope for this country, which can be analyzed in terms of the natal potential and the impacts of transiting planets in the horoscope at any given time. The other approach is the ancient practice of predicting mundane events based on the study of Wikipedia:astrological phenomena, such as the movement of celestial bodies through signs in the Wikipedia:Solar System, aspects between planets or astronomical cycles. This approach makes no reference to a national horoscope. Astrology is considered to be a pseudo-science by the scientific community. Overview The earliest known artifacts of astrology date back to Wikipedia:Babylon in the 16th century B.C.. The evidence suggests this omen-based astrology was solely practiced in the realm of mundane predictions. From that time there have been three major developments in mundane astrology, associated also with significant advances in astronomical knowledge. In 120 AD the Greek Wikipedia:astrologer Wikipedia:Claudius Ptolemy set down the fundamentals of mundane astrology in Book II: Mundane astrology of his famous treatise on astrology, the Tetrabiblos. In the ninth and tenth centuries the astrologers of the Wikipedia:Islamic world added many more techniques, particularly the use of the cycles of Wikipedia:Jupiter and Wikipedia:Saturn to identify the rise and fall of states and religions. The twentieth century saw a major proliferation of techniques, including those based on the use of planetary cycles. Mundane Horoscopes Just as a person has a horoscope cast for the moment of their birth, so too can states and nations have horoscopes cast for the moment of their beginning.Derek and Julia Parker, The New Compleat Astrologer, pp184-5, Crescent Books, New York, 1990 In many cases the correct date is not clear, and in most cases a nation or country has multiple birth charts. For example, many astrologers take the date of England's horoscope as Christmas Day 1066 - the day when that William the Conqueror had the crown set upon his head. There is also a chart set for midnight on 1 May 1707 (Old Style), the time of the Union of England and Wales with Scotland creating Great Britain. The Union then grew again on 1 January 1801 with the Union of Great Britain and Ireland. A further change took place as the Republic of Ireland left the Union, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was created. Another example of a country/state that has multiple 'birthdays' is France, which regained its independence after the occupation of the Second World War as the Fourth Republic on 10 October 1946, while the present French system came into being as the Fifth Republic after a referendum held on 28 September 1958. Similarly in Germany the present state system came into effect with the enactment of the Basic Law in August 1949, yet it is also considered by most astrologers that a new state has come into being with German re-unification in October 1990. In principle, any organisation or object can have a chart cast for the moment of its 'birth'.Derek and Julia Parker, Ibid, p184 For example, the ship Titanic's horoscope is generally cast for noon on 10 April 1912 when the ocean liner first set sail. Horoscopes for the USA There are many contending dates and times for a national horoscope for the Wikipedia:United States of America, but the primary events considered are on the one hand when the states declared their independence from Wikipedia:Great Britain and on the other when they formed a lasting union. ''Declaration of Independence (1776) Most astrologers view the birth of the USA as having occurred sometime during the day of July 4, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was adopted . Of the many charts proposed for that day, the most widely accepted continues to be the Wikipedia:Sibly chart, set for 5.10pm on 4 July 1776 in Philadelphia. This chart was generated using medieval techniques which signified the event, rather than purporting to represent the actual time. Nick Campion's Book of World Horoscopes p417 Other dates also configure in this event. The document, formally entitled ''The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America, explained the justifications for separation from the British crown, and was an expansion of Wikipedia:Richard Henry Lee's Resolution (passed by Congress on July 2), which first proclaimed independence. An engrossed copy of the Declaration was signed by most of the delegates on August 2. ''Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union (1777-1781) In recent years, some astrologers and historians consider the formation of the country to have occurred with the Wikipedia:Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union when the country became legally a Wikipedia:nation-state with its own constitution. David Solte's chart is based on November 15, 1777, when the ''Articles were approved by the Wikipedia:Continental Congress to be sent to the states for their ratification. Solte rectified the time as 12.46pm. It bears noting that the Articles had at this time not been ratified by the 13 still Wikipedia:sovereign or independent states. The SAMVA USA (Wikipedia:Perpetual Union) chart |date=March 2012}} is based on the event when Wikipedia:Maryland became the 13th and final state to pass an Act ratifying the Articles on February 2, 1781. The Act provided the requisite unanimous consent for the formation of a perpetual union of the thirteen states. The chart was rectified using the techniques of ancient Wikipedia:vedic astrology, notably the Systems' Approach, determining that the signing of the law took place at 5.00pm on that day. Another chart is based on the formal ratification ceremony of the Articles on March 1, 1781, when the Wikipedia:constitution of the new Wikipedia:Confederation entered into force. Astrological Ages thumb|Signs of the astrological Zodiac An approach to studying longer-term history through astrology is through the use of "Wikipedia:precession of the equinoxes" indicators, providing a source for the idea of Wikipedia:Astrological Ages. The Wikipedia:Astrological Ages provide another astrological technique for examining the correlations between historical events on a large scale with Ages such as the Wikipedia:Age of Aquarius, that are generally linked to Wikipedia:precession of the equinoxes. One complete precessional cycle (Great Year) is approximately 25,600 years, and the average length of an Astrological Age is approximately 2160 years. Many astrologers believe that the world is currently on the cusp of the Age of Pisces, passing into the Wikipedia:Age of Aquarius. Wikipedia:Archetypes traditionally linked to Wikipedia:Pisces include Wikipedia:Christianity, salvation and faith-based religions, Wikipedia:slavery, Wikipedia:drugs (especially Wikipedia:tobacco, but also including all forms of drugs both legal and illicit), Wikipedia:oil, Wikipedia:pharmaceuticals, Wikipedia:corporations, psychic phenomena, all esoteric subjects and massive problems that humanity has created for itself. Wikipedia:Archetypes associated with Aquarius include Wikipedia:democracy, freedom, Wikipedia:technology, Wikipedia:electricity, Wikipedia:computers, space travel, Wikipedia:flight, Wikipedia:dictators, freedom fighters and revolutionaries, excitement and the effects of mental instability upon societies. Modern scientific appraisal Contemporary science considers astrology a pseudoscience. . See also Criticisms include that astrology is Wikipedia:conjectural and supplies no Wikipedia:hypotheses, proves impossible to falsify, and describes natural events in terms of scientifically untestable supernatural causes. It has also been suggested that much of the continued faith in astrology could be psychologically explained as a matter of Wikipedia:cognitive bias.Eysenck, H.J., and Nias, D.K.B. (1982) pp.42-48. Skeptics say that the practice of western astrologers allows them to avoid making verifiable predictions, and gives them the ability to attach significance to arbitrary and unrelated events, in a way that suits their purpose,About.com: Is Astrology a Pseudoscience? Examining the Basis and Nature of Astrology although science also provides methodologies to separate verifiable significance from arbitrary predictions in research experiments, as demonstrated by Gauquelin's research and Carlson's experiment. References Further reading * Nicholas Campion, The Book of World Horoscopes, The Aquarian Press, London, 1988 * Stan Barker, The Signs of The Times - The Neptune Factor: America's Future and Past as Seen Through Planetary Cycles, Llewellyn Publications, St Paul, MN USA 1986 * E. Alan Meece, Horoscope for the New Millennium, Llewellyn Publications, St Paul MN USA 1997 * Dhruva, Astrological analysis of Indian Affairs (1947–2050), New Delhi: Readworthy Publications (P) Ltd., 2008 (ISBN 9788189973025) * "America is Born: Introducing the Regulus USA National Horoscope", Regulus Astrology LLC, Princeton, NJ, 2008. (ISBN 9780980185621) * Richard Tarnas, Cosmos and Psyche, Intimations of a New World View, New York, 2006 (ISBN 9780670032921) Category:Astrology by type Category:History of astrology